Sunday, 17 July 2016

That's Food and Drink Wine Festival

As part of the That's Food and Drink Summer Wine Festival we are reviewing two very good wines today.

They are both very different from each other, but both are very eminently drinkable.

The first is a sparkling Italian wine, Bortolin Angelo Valdobbiadene, Prosecco Superiore D.O.C.G.

It is a 2015 vintage and is described as "Extra Dry."

However, I have to say that this wine did not "drink" as an extra dry wine.

There was, to my taste, a sort of underlying sweetness that gave me hints of the fruits of the summer, with the taste of the grapes perfectly balanced.

This wine is a perfect representation of the Prosecco type of wine and it is, very much, a "superiore" representation of this wine.

It is recommended to drink it whilst it is still young, so it is best not to be laid down in a wine cellar or a winestore for any great length of time.

It is best served at roughly 8 to 10 degrees centigrade, that's about 46 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is suggested that it is kept in the refrigerator for a minimum of time and that previously it should be stored in a cool, dark place.

The second wine tasted was a fine example of the craft and skill represented by the Australian wine makers.

It is the '15 wine, labelled as apo|stro|phe stone's throw.

It is described as a Riesling/Gewürztraminer wine/blanc wine, great southern '15.

What to say about this wine?

I love the cool, crisp Riesling style of wine making, but it must be said that this '15 Riesling (with the addition of the Gewürztraminer grape) actually, to my mind at any rate, takes this style of wine to (I hate to use this term, but I feel that this is one rare occasion that it is genuinely justified) another, higher, level.

It is a simple and highly effective wine. There is the beautiful simple -yet, paradoxically, complex- taste of the Riesling grape and the Gewürztraminer grape, yet there's the extra oomph added by the nurturing and warming Australian summer sunshine.

Ideal with snack foods, light snacks, main meals, deserts or just chilling in a wine cooler on the patio, this Larry Cherubino Wine is imported into the UK by Halgarten Druitt.